London 2012 Olympics: how Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani inspired a generation in swimming pool at Sydney Games - Telegraph London 2012 Olympics: how Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani inspired a generation in swimming pool at Sydney Games Eric Moussambani Malonga can remember the precise moment his life - and his name - changed forever. Image 1 of 2 Great lengths: Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani during the 100m freestyle heats at the Sydney Aquatic Centre in 2000 Photo: EPA Image 1 of 2 Man in charge: Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani, who came to global recognition in the Sydney Olympic pool, is now coaching the Equatorial Guinea swimming team By Jennifer O’Mahony 11:00PM BST 27 Jul 2012 It was an April morning in 2000 and the 22 year-old was listening to the radio at his home in his native Malabo, the ramshackle capital city of Equatorial Guinea.

Over the airwaves, a message crackled out: would members of the public who wanted to try for a place in the national Olympic swimming squad please make themselves known. Moussambani’s ear pricked up: he was not even a member of a club, let alone the national team, but still he vowed to attend the trials. He was the only one who bothered and so, by default, he was selected for the Sydney Games: it was the first in a chain of perfect coincidences in the life of the man now known the world over as Eric the Eel. From then until his appearance in Australia, Moussambani was on his own. “My preparation was very poor because I did not have a coach,” he recalls. “I was training by myself, in the river and the sea. My country did not have a competition swimming pool, and I was only training at the weekends, for two hours at a time. I didn’t have any experience in crawl, breaststroke, or butterfly. I didn’t know how to swim competitively. “The first time I swam in the sea I was 12 years old and was on vacation in my mother’s village.

My first time in a swimming pool was on May 6 2000 in the Hotel Ureca swimming pool.” Related Articles Payne ready to take plunge 26 Jul 2012 Moussambani landed in Sydney just months later, after a gruelling three-day journey. “I felt so good when I arrived in Sydney; it was amazing. I was happy being at the Olympics , because it was a new experience for me. We arrived early in the morning, at around 5am, after travelling from Malabo to Libreville (Gabon) to Paris to Hong Kong and on to Sydney.” Moussambani did not have to achieve a qualifying standard because of a wildcard draw to encourage developing countries to send athletes to the Games, and his lone trajectory was further accelerated when the two other swimmers in his 100m freestyle heat were disqualified for false starts. That just left Eric, alone and unprepared on an Australian starting block and facing the first 50m pool he had ever seen in his life, surrounded by TV crews and 17,000 spectators. Everyone knows what happens next.

The 1min 52.72sec thrash through the pool, with Moussambani’s legs askew and arms slapping through the water, captivated the world. Dressed in an ordinary pair of Speedo-style swim trunks, he could not have contrasted more with the sleek ease and amphibian spandex of the other competitors. The pause after his awkward somersault and push off after his first length, when no one was sure if the Eel would make it, saw the world collectively hold its breath. He recalls the noise of the crowd spurring him on. “I felt that I was important because I was representing my country. I was also nervous, due to the fact that I had never seen so many people and TVs. I remember that when I was swimming, I could hear the crowd, and that gave me strength to continue and complete the 100 metres, but I was already tired. It was my first time in an Olympic swimming pool.” He finished, drawing out the last couple of metres into an agonising wait, and propped himself up on the pool side, exhausted and taking in the noise he could only half hear in the water.

After the hype of the talk shows and interviews died down, Eric went home. Now 33, he is an IT engineer and coaches the national swimming team. Equatorial Guinea now has an Olympic-length swimming pool, which opened in February, and he works with the team four times a week. Eric has cut his own 100m freestyle time down to 57 seconds. “I have been the national coach of the swimming team in Equatorial Guinea for six months,” he says, “On a normal day, I wake up at 5am, jog or run three kilometres, then I take a shower, have breakfast and then go to work. “I work from 8am to 5pm. I coach my swimmers on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 6pm to 10pm.” Moussambani was always active as a child, but his family sometimes struggled for money to buy him any equipment. “I grew up in Malabo with my mother and sisters. When I was a child I used to play football, volleyball, and basketball, but I wasn’t good at any of them.

I also liked cycling, but my mother never bought me a bicycle, because at that time it was too expensive. I used to borrow them from my friends.” Life now is easier, with an income from one of the many American petroleum companies that have flocked to the tiny West African nation since oil and gas reserves began to be exploited on a large scale in the 1990s. However, Moussambani is realistic that the odds against his country’s team are insurmountable when competing with the world’s sporting powerhouses. “It is not easy for me to educate or coach the national swimming team in Equatorial Guinea. There is a lot of work to do, and we are still need training materials to be truly successful.” In 2000, Eric the Eel reminded us of an era when all competitors were amateurs, and coaches, sponsorship and uniforms were yet to feature as mandatory accessories to success. In the hyper-professionalised world of sport in 2012, he remains a reminder of the power of the novice to inspire hope in the lives of the ordinary.

Eric the Eel: The Olympic Swimmer Who'd Never Been in an Olympic-Size Pool | Mental Floss Eric the Eel: The Olympic Swimmer Who'd Never Been in an Olympic-Size Pool Getty Images Like us on Facebook To bring the Olympic spirit to developing nations in the late 1990s, the Olympic Committee allowed a small number of "wild card" athletes to join the Games. But because they didn't have to go through any qualifying rounds to compete, not all of the contenders arrived prepared. One such athlete was a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea named Eric Moussambani. When Moussambani arrived at the 2000 Sydney Games, he'd only been training for the 100-meter freestyle for about eight months. He'd also never been in an Olympic-size pool and had never raced more than 50 meters. Regardless, he was determined to represent his country. The three wild-card qualifiers were given their own heat, and Moussambani took to the blocks next to swimmers from Niger and Tajikistan. When the official called the swimmers to their marks, both of Moussambani's competitors were disqualified for false starts.

Left to swim the heat by himself, Eric dove in and dog paddled, gasping for air and flailing his arms and legs. Halfway through the race, the situation looked so dire that commentators seriously worried he was drowning. When Moussambani eventually stalled out 10 meters from the end of the race, the crowd rallied behind him as he inched toward the finish. As he finally pulled himself from the water, the applause thundered. His final time was 1:52.72—more than twice that of swimmers in the previous heat. But Moussambani couldn't have been happier. Ecstatic to have finished his first 100-meter race, he told reporters, "I'm going to jump and dance all night long in celebration of my personal triumph." Moussambani's pluck and perseverance made him an Olympic celebrity, and his newfound fans dubbed him "Eric the Eel." He kept training for the 2004 Games and even got his time down to a respectable 57 seconds. Unfortunately, a visa snafu kept him from competing again.

Here's his memorable Olympic moment (and 52 seconds): 50 stunning Olympic moments No11: Eric Moussambani flails way to glory | Barry Glendenning | Sport | The Guardian 50 stunning Olympic moments 50 stunning Olympic moments No11: Eric Moussambani flails way to glory The Equatorial Guinea swimmer had never dipped a toe in an Olympic pool but left a hero despite a hapless performance Wednesday 25 January 2012 04.59 EST First published on Wednesday 25 January 2012 04.59 EST Share on Messenger Close “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well” – Baron Pierre de Coubertin, International Olympic Committee founder and father of the modern Games. Ten to watch: meet Team GB's sporting superheroes Read more Poolside or on the track, sprinters always stress the importance of exploding from the starting blocks on the B of the starting pistol’s BANG!

In the first qualifying heat of the men’s 100m freestyle at Sydney 2000, two of the three nervous participants bucked the trend, choosing instead to go on the “S” of the starter’s “get set”. With five lanes of the vast Olympic swimming pool unoccupied, Niger’s Karim Bare and Tajikistan’s Farkhod Oripov didn’t just jump the gun, they vaulted it Sergey Bubka- style, such was their overeagerness to immerse their skin-hugging polyurethane bodysuits in the drink. Crouched forlornly on the starting block of lane five wearing nothing more aerodynamic than a pair of blue swimming trunks with white go-faster stripes, Equatorial Guinea’s Eric Moussambani looked quizzically across to the starter as if to say: “What now?” An already surreal state of affairs had got weirder, but only the most schmaltzy Hollywood screenwriter could have predicted what would happen next. Twelve months previously, Moussambani had been unable to swim and had yet to set foot outside his native country, the tiny oil-rich nation of Equatorial Guinea.

Repressively governed then and now by Africa’s longest-serving ruler, the despotic president Teodoro Obiang, the per capita wealth of Equatorial Guinea exceeds that of the UK, but the majority of its 700,000 citizens are impoverished and forced to get by on less than one dollar a day. Rubbing shoulders with North Korea, Burma and Somalia on the list of the planet’s most despotic hell-holes, Equatorial Guinea under Obiang was recently described by the Observer’s Ian Birrell as “a ruthless one-party state where elections are stolen, opponents jailed and state coffers looted, control of daily life is all-pervasive and the government is accused of gross human rights abuses, including torture and extra-judicial killings.” It was from this hostile environment that Moussambani had emerged to participate at Sydney 2000, having never even seen, let alone dipped a toe in, an Olympic-sized 50metre pool. Five days before the race that would make him a household name, Moussambani arrived in Sydney with £50 spending money and enjoyed the honour of carrying the Equatorial Guinea flag in the opening ceremony of the Games.

Despite the significant handicap of having been unable to swim eight months previously, he had gained entry to the Olympics via a wild-card scheme, since significantly scaled back, that was established to give athletes from developing countries the opportunity to compete. It was through the same scheme that Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, then a plasterer, had been allowed to compete in the ski jump at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. His entry secured, Moussambani set about teaching himself to swim in the pool of a hotel in his home town of Malabo. Having mastered the basics and training alone without a coach, he had nobody to help him clock his efforts in a 20m pool that wasn’t even roped into lanes. To make matters worse, in the buildup to the Games, Moussambani had been mistakenly informed that he would be swimming only 50m and had trained accordingly. Upon his arrival in Sydney he was understandably alarmed to discover the discipline in which he was entered was twice that distance, a comparative test of endurance he had never even attempted. Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea concentrates before his 100m freestyle heat.

Photograph: Greg Wood/EPA After Moussambani’s rivals Bare and Oripov had false-started, confusion reigned in the Sydney International Aquatic Centre. The pair swam back to their blocks and dragged themselves from the pool, only to be disqualified for their overzealousness. With only one competitor left, it was presumed the heat would be abandoned and Moussambani would proceed to the next round, but after conferring, the Olympic authorities announced he would have to compete alone against the clock, in front of 17,000 spectators, in a bid to make the qualifying time of 1min 10sec (the world record at the time was 48.18sec). For the second time that morning, the starter fired his pistol and, for the first time in his 22-year existence, Moussambani dived off a starting block into a 50m pool. Alone in such a vast expanse of water, Moussambani made for a peculiar sight, but set off at a fair old clip. However, when it became quickly apparent that he wasn’t much of a swimmer, laughter became audible above the half-hearted cheers of the bemused crowd.

Moussambani had looked the part, buff and ripped as he sliced the water with a dive that looked technically adequate to the untrained eye, but as he approached the halfway turn in 40.97sec, it was painfully apparent that he was hopelessly and quite literally out of his depth. “This guy doesn’t look like he’s going to make it,” said Adrian Moorhouse, co-commentating for the BBC. “I am convinced this guy is going to have to get hold of the lane rope in a moment,” he continued, as Moussambani inched his way down the pool, veering diagonally across his lane as he flailed in desperation. But with 30 metres to go and the raucous din of the good-natured, highly amused but supportive Australian crowd growing in volume as they roared their encouragement for the hapless underdog, the flailing object of their affection steeled himself for one final big push.

“He’s going to make it, this is the Olympics, he’s got 17,000 people shouting for him,” enthused Moorhouse, easing growing concern that the waywardly thrashing Moussambani, now practically swimming on the spot, might actually drown. And make it he did, eventually “winning” heat one of the 100m freestyle in a time of 1min 52.72sec, the slowest time in Olympic history, albeit a personal best that was a mite under 43 seconds outside the qualifying time. Indeed, so slow was Moussambani that his time for 100m was seven seconds longer than it had taken the Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe to swim exactly twice the distance in the same pool the previous day. The Dutch swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband won the final of Moussambani’s event in 48.30sec, setting a new world record in the semi-final.

“The first 50 metres were OK, but in the second 50 metres I got a bit worried and thought I wasn’t going to make it,” said a dripping, visibly shattered, but elated Moussambani after he had dragged himself out of the pool. “Then something happened. I think it was all the people getting behind me. I was really, really proud. It’s still a great feeling for me and I loved when everyone applauded me at the end. I felt like I had won a medal or something.” If Moussambani had won a medal, it would have been a first for Equatorial Guinea and made him a national hero, but so epic and endearing was the nature of his glorious failure to earn him a place anywhere near the podium that he quickly found himself basking in the kind of global acclaim normally reserved for truly great Olympic stars of track and field. Such was the level of media interest in his heroic effort that Olympic officials were forced to provide him with a translator and personal assistant to help cope with more than 100 interview requests from TV, newspapers and magazines.

Labelling Moussambani “Eric The Eel”, the opportunists at the Speedo marketing department kitted him out with one of their Fastskin bodysuits and promised an “ongoing commitment” to the swimmer that resulted in him being ferried around Europe doing promotional work over the next 12 months. Back at the Olympic village, Moussambani was hailed as the very embodiment of the Games spirit and his every excursion was soundtracked by spontaneous applause. A giant banner was draped outside the lodgings of the Equatorial Guinea team declaring “Eric the swimmer lives here”, a German TV crew took him on a tour of Sydney Harbour and his hero, the Australian swimmer Michael Klim, sought him out to shake his hand. “This is what the Olympics is all about,” said Klim’s team-mate Thorpe, who won three golds and two silvers in the pool at his hometown Games. Not everyone concurred with Thorpe, not least in Equatorial Guinea, where Moussambani’s high-profile failure was considered by those in high places to be a source of much national embarrassment.

The International Olympic Committee’s president, Jacques Rogge, also disagreed with Thorpe’s assessment that heroism of the hapless was what the Games were all about, telling the Guardian about his plans to stop handing out wild cards to countries that would otherwise be unable to send competitors on the grounds that “we want to avoid what happened in the swimming in Sydney; the public loved it, but I did not like it.” Considering his diktat that the Olympic Games are for the world and “all nations must be admitted to them”, it’s difficult to imagine that Rogge’s predecessor Baron de Coubertin would have shared such a snooty elitist view. What happened next Once the clocked ticked down on Moussambani’s 15 minutes of fame, the endorsements dried up and media interest in the Olympic darling inevitably dwindled, the swimmer set about preparing for the next Games in Athens, despite the best attempts of his government and national Olympic body to thwart his progress at every turn.

Relentless training helped him slash his personal best from 1min 57.2sec to under 57 seconds, but an offer of a scholarship to a university in Wisconsin was withdrawn when bureaucrats in Equatorial Guinea either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, submit the relevant paperwork. Shortly before the 2004 Olympics, media interest in Moussambani flickered briefly when it emerged that his efforts to compete in Athens appeared doomed to failure. “I have been training very hard for three years and my goal was wanting to go to Athens and to show people I can do better,” explained the impoverished engineering student, having travelled from his adopted home of Valencia just a couple of days before the Equatorial Guinea team were due to set off for Athens. “The [Speedo] contract is finished now. I don’t have any more sponsors. I have been training very hard but nobody has been helping me. I have a plan to go to Athens but if I can’t go, there is not enough money to continue.” A suspiciously convenient blunder in Malabo government HQ prevented Moussambani from showing the world how much he’d improved, when the passport photograph required for his accreditation was mislaid.

How the Guardian reported it: 20 September 2000 Moussambani mania swept through the Olympics today as the swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, who won his 100 metres freestyle heat in record slow time, became the most sought after athlete at the Games, wrote Vivek Chaudhary. Eric Moussambani, aged 22, has become the most high-profile Olympian in Sydney and more famous than any gold medal winner as he went down in Olympic folklore for being a heroic failure. The African swimmer won his heat in 1min 52.72sec, the slowest ever time for 100m freestyle swimming in the history of the Games and at times barely managed to keep his head above water. Moussambani only won because the two other swimmers in the race were disqualified for false starts. Today, he gave more than 100 interviews to the world’s media and was also given a medal by a British tabloid. A German television crew took him on a cruise around Sydney harbour while scores of fans queued to get his autograph.

He was also featured as the main item on American television channel NBC’s Olympic coverage, which is shown across the country. “I really do not understand what all the fuss is about because I have not won anything,” said Moussambani. “But I am very happy that everybody now knows my country. I was very tired in the pool but the Olympic spirit meant that I had to finish the race. “I have never been so tired in my life. My muscles were hurting. I had never been in a pool that big before, I was very scared. I feel as if I have won a gold medal. Everybody was clapping and cheering me, it was just like winning.” Moussambani said he had telephoned his mother soon after his win but she was not even aware that he was supposed to be racing. “I told her: ‘Mama, I have done it,’” beamed Moussambani. “Many people thought that I would not be able to finish the race. I would have been ashamed had I not been able to finish the race.

I would not have been able to live with myself.” Unemployed Moussambani usually trains in a 20m pool, the only one of its kind in Equatorial Guinea, and during weekends he swims in a local river, which according to team-mates is sometimes visited by crocodiles. On Tuesday night, Moussambani completed his heat in almost double the world record time of 48.18sec. Moussambani, who is already being heralded as one of the Olympic Games’s greatest failures, said he hoped the world would not forget him once the Games were over. “I would like somebody to sponsor me and pay for a coach. It is all very well doing these interviews and having all this publicity but it will not be worth anything if nobody is willing to help me.” Moussambani finished well outside the qualifying time of 1min 10sec and was eliminated from the competition. “I think they should let me back into the swimming event because I did win my heat,” he said.

Eric the Eel Home > Events > Olympics > Summer > Competitors > Eric the Eel Eric "the Eel" Moussambani At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Swimmer Eric Moussambani made quite a splash. Eric was from Equatorial Guinea, not a place known for swimming. Eric soon became well known by his nickname "the Eel". The worldwide audience embraced this poor swimmer, not because he was any good, but because he embodied the spirit of the Games, which is about taking part and doing your best. In his heat of the 100m freestyle event, there were only two other competitors, but they were disqualified for jumping the starter's gun. This left Eric to race in the pool all by himself. Eric took 112.72 seconds, the slowest time recorded, about a minute more than the next slowest competitor, and more than twice as long as Pieter van den Hoogenband's gold-winning performance. Share: Eric The Eel - Swimming World News Eric The Eel By Craig Lord SYDNEY, Sept. 20.

ERIC Moussambani, from Equatorial Guinea, learned to swim in January when his nation established its first aquatics federation. Yesterday he stepped onto his blocks in baggy blue trunks, drawstrings dangling and untied, to make his Olympic debut in the 100 meter freestyle. It was a nervous moment for the 22-year-old, who fumbled with his goggles with the dexterity of a child handling a pen for the first time. Two lengths amounted to 100 meters but Moussambani, one of 11 from his country in Sydney, had only ever raced over 50 metres before in a 20-meter-long pool, and the Olympic waters of the Sydney International Aquatic Centre stretched out before him like a marathon course. Beside him were two bodysuited swimmers, Niger's Karim Bare – who was anything but – and Farkhod Oripov, of Tajikistan, all three invited to Sydney under the friendship funding programme organised by FINA, swimming's global authority. The starter called the swimmers to their marks. Moussambani, 5ft 7in, held steady.

The taller bodysuits wobbled, fell in and were cast out of the race under the no false-start rule, their Olympic Games over. The 18,000-crowd booed but the judge would have none of it. Moussambani would plough a lonely lane for his finest 1 minute 52.72 second (40.97-1:11.75) though it felt like an hour. The gun fired and Equatorial Guinea's aquatic answer to Eddie the Eagle – Eric the Eel – plunged into the lane in which Ian Thorpe had raced to a silver medal in 1min 45sec over double the distance the day before. At first, the crowd clapped politely. But the mood turned upon Moussambani's turn, for here was a man with an Olympic courage bigger than Thorpe's feet. Confusion reigned for a moment – was he facing up or down, and did he know himself? A sense of relief washed over the pool as the man from Molabu surfaced to take a breath.

The largely Australian crowd – nearly every man, woman and child probably capable of swimming faster than Moussambani – warmed to the occasion and lifeguards stood by poised to plunge in for the rescue as the swimmer's stroke shortened, and his legs sank from the surface. With a final desperate lunge, Moussambani was safe. It would be some while before he could get dry; an hour after clambering shattered on to the deck, he had still not made it through the gauntlet of cameras, microphones and media. His time would have been a world Masters record–in the 100 to 104 year group, the speed of 97-year-old Gus Langner from the United States still a target on his way to Athens 2004. Moussambani, who works in information technology, sent "kisses and hugs to the whole crowd", and, speaking in Spanish and French, added: "I could hear them cheering and it helped me to get to the end.

I didn't want to swim 100 meters but my coach told me that I should do it anyway – I thought it was too much but thanks to the crowd, I made it." His mother and three younger siblings – his father is dead – would watch his great moment on television the next day. They had already seen him once. "I carried the flag at the opening ceremony because they needed a small swimmer to do it, and nobody knew who I was. But now, when I go home, everyone will know me," he said. Moussambani was later to be found celebrating his new-found fame. "I'm going to jump and dance all night long in celebration of my personal triumph," said the slowest swimmer in Sydney who became more famous than Thorpe for an hour at the Olympic Games yesterday. Eric Moussambani OLYMPIC 2000 SYDNEY SWIMMING (HIGH QUALITY) - YouTube Eric Moussambani OLYMPIC 2000 SYDNEY SWIMMING (HIGH QUALITY) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content.

The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jul 27, 2009 Eric Moussambani OLYMPIC 2000 SYDNEY SWIMMING Category Rio 2016: Eric 'The Eel' Moussambani and the 100m heat - BBC Sport BBC Sport BBC Sport - Rio 2016: Eric 'The Eel' Moussambani and the 100m heat Olympic Stories: The legend of Eric 'The Eel' 3 Aug 2016 From the section Olympics Equatorial Guinea's Eric 'The Eel' Moussambani had never seen an Olympic-sized swimming pool until he turned up at the Sydney Games in 2000. He would leave a legend with a new nickname - winning his heat in a very slow time of one minute 52.72 seconds after the only other two competitors were disqualified for false starts.

Olympic milestones: Eric the Eel's 100m freestyle swim | London Evening Standard Olympic milestones: Eric the Eel's 100m freestyle swim Monday 27 February 2012 09:50 BST Magical moment: Eric the Eel at the Sydney Olympics This is fantastic. In some ways, it epitomises the Olympic ideal. An unknown "swimmer" arrived in Sydney from Equatorial Guinea, his proud country's single representative in the 100m freestyle, and basically, he couldn't swim. Eric Moussambani, it turned out, had been practising in a hotel swimming pool back in Africa and had never been in an Olympic-sized pool in his life. He must have seen the water stretching into the distance in Sydney's famous Aquatics Centre - the very place where Ian "Thorpedo" Thorpe had been hailed as a human shark in his full-length racing suit - and wondered what on earth he was doing there. In his first (and last) heat, he dived in and crawled, literally, through the water. His rivals had finished their swim when he was barely at the turning point.

Painstakingly, gasping for breath and very, very slowly, he crawled back down his lane and, to the popping of flashbulbs and world acclaim, he completed his task in 1 minute 52.72 seconds, twice the time it took the other athletes in the race. Eric the Eel was born. You might expect me to question his inclusion. I wouldn't do anything of the sort. He didn't achieve the minimum entry requirements for the event, but the IOC has it in its power to award wild-cards to encourage the developing nations. Eric was a beneficiary of the scheme and so wonderful was his reception and obvious his delight, it did nothing but enhance the magic of the Games. I'll always remember an Indian skier at the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984, who missed a gate on the downhill run and then sidestepped back up again to take it properly. He looked like a beginner on a dry slope in Telford. I couldn't believe my eyes. But I give him huge credit for having the courage to take part. Those are the important words to me - take part.

It is a sharp reminder that the Olympic oath has genuine meaning: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." All right, I didn't mean them when I was competing at the Olympics. I wanted to win. But, honestly, had I ever been beaten by a better crew, I would have been disappointed but not inconsolable. For me, the point was to be the best I could be. If I had taken part and left every single particle of effort out there on the course, but been beaten, I would have had nothing to regret. Eric gave it all he had, and he must be as proud of his Olympic appearance as any athlete who has ever competed in the Games. That is what makes it a truly global event. If only the best turned up, you would have the powerful few so dominant that huge parts of the globe would be unrepresented. What would be the joy in that? Eric was pure fun. I can remember his closing few strokes, when he almost looked as though he was treading water. He was hardly moving.

The purists aren't always happy. I met Eddie the Eagle, our hapless ski jumper, at the Winter Games in Calgary in 1988, and he's quite a character. He didn't so much perform a jump as a flop, so brief was his time in the air, but who remembers who won? Everyone remembers Eddie. I think that's why his shallow media celebrity was resented by various people, including members of the British team, and it was certainly a cause for reconsideration of entry qualifications by the IOC. It thought it made a mockery of the event (incidentally, won by Matti Nykänen of Finland) but I enjoyed his brief parabola across the Olympic landscape. If the Games ever lost its capacity for variety, sport would be poorer for it. Great Olympic Moments by Steve Redgrave is published by Headline Books £20. 'Eric the Eel' dreams of Olympic return - CNN.com 'Eric the Eel' dreams of Olympic return By James Montague, CNN Updated 9:00 AM ET, Tue July 31, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Eel communication – "Eric the Eel" became something of an Olympic hero when he swam at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His time of one minute 52.72 seconds in the 100 meters freestyle was the worst in Olympic history. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Calm before the storm – Eric Moussambani hails from Equatorial Guinea in west Africa. He replied to an advert on the radio looking for swimmers and was promptly told he was going to the Games despite having never seen an Olympic-sized pool before. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Take off – His two opponents in the heat were disqualified for false starts. Moussambani, who had learned his technique from the American swim team in the two days before the race, set off on his own as the crowd cheered. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Eric the Eel vs.

the pool – The reason that Moussambani could swim at Sydney was because the International Olympic Committee gives out a limited number of wild cards to developing nations. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? A new Olympic record... – Moussambani struggled but eventually finished the race. It wasn't enough to qualify for the next round but the record books still show that he technically won his one and only Olympic race. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Hero worship – Eric's swim became world news and he became something of a hero for his gutsy, if flawed, swim. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? Later that day... – There was one other swimmer from Equatorial Guinea at Sydney. Paula Barila Bolopa swam in the women's 50 meters freestyle and also came last in a record time of one minute 3.93 seconds. It was twice the previous worst time in the event. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel?

Trevor the Tortoise – Since Eric's infamy, the world's press has been on the look for similar anomalies at major championships. One of the best known is Trevor Misipeka from American Samoa, dubbed "Trevor the Tortoise." He was penciled in for the shotputt, but an administrative error meant that he had to compete in the 100 meters sprint, which he did in 14.28 seconds. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: What happened to Eric the Eel? The new Eel? – Despite the IOC keeping a closer eye on its wild cards, London 2012 has had its own "Eric the Eel" moment. Rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka of Niger finished in last place in a single sculls repechage, 100 seconds behind his nearest rival.

He has acquired his own animal-themed nickname: "The Sculling Sloth." Hide Caption CNN talks to Eric Moussambani, better known as "Eric the Eel" Equatorial Guinea athlete became a worldwide celebrity for the worst swim ever He finished 100 meters freestyle heat at Sydney 2000 in double the world record time Now 34, Moussambani is hoping to return to the Olympics at Rio in 2016 The English commentator veered from disbelief to anger and then, finally, to mirth. It was the opening heat of the men's 100 meters freestyle swimming at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, but only one man was standing on his block: Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea, a tiny, oil-rich state in west Africa. There had been two other swimmers to compete with -- one from Niger, the other from Tajikistan -- but both had jumped the gun, dived in to the pool and been disqualified. The crowd cheered, the gun fired and the 22-year-old dived in. Suddenly he was on his own.

What followed was one of the most memorable two minutes in Olympic history, one that would embody something far away from the podiums that honor the motto of the modern Games: "Faster, higher, stronger." During the first 50 meters Moussambani appeared to be holding his own, but by the turn things had gone very wrong. At one point he appeared to stop, treading water to catch his breath before continuing. Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – The countdown to the start of the opening ceremony is projected across the stands while the Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, flies over the Olympic Stadium. The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games was held on Friday, July 27. Check out photos from the closing ceremony. Hide Caption 1 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Spectators take shelter under umbrellas prior to the start of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A man wearing glasses waits for the start of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A balloon flies over spectators prior to the opening ceremony.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Spectators wait under the rain before the ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Red Arrows fly over Olympic Stadium before the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 6 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – A robotic camera captures an overview of the Olympic Stadium at the start of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers prepare for the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 8 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Red Arrows fly over the Olympic Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Danny Boyle, the London 2012 artistic director, addresses the audience. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Red Arrows disappear over London ahead of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 11 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour De France cycle race, waves to the audience. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A young performer holds a balloon bearing the Olympic rings. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A young performer holds a balloon.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists take the field for the meadow scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists arrive before the start of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fans take photos as cows are lead across the stadium floor. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists arrive in a horse and carriage. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors perform during the British meadow scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers depict a view of the English countryside. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers depict a view of the English countryside. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Cricketers play on the pitch during the preshow. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors perform during the British meadow scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The London Symphony Orchestra performs during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 26 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – A general view of the inside of the stadium during the opening ceremony.

Hide Caption 27 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, at the start of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – General view taken during a scene of The Age of Industry. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Huge chimneys emerge from the ground to symbolize the industrial revolution. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – An inflatable yellow submarine floats above artists. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Inflatable yellow submarines float above artists during The Age of Industry scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Spectators watch the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Hide Caption 33 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attends the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on Friday. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A general view of Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors perform during the British meadow scene during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Kenneth Branagh performs as Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform as the sun sets in the background. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The sun sets behind performers. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Drummers dressed in period garb perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers drum during the Opening Ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Drummers during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors perform during the industrial revolution scene. Hide Caption 44 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – A general view of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Hide Caption opening ceremonies 28 – The Olympic rings form. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 47 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremonyv – The Olympic rings are assembled above the stadium in a scene depicting the Industrial Revolution. Hide Caption 48 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Freshly "forged" Olympic Rings fly above the chimneys during The Age of Industry scene.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Olympic rings are assembled. Hide Caption 50 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An actor dressed to resemble Britain's Queen Elizabeth II parachutes into the stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – People wave Union flags during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists dressed in costumes perform. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers with jetpacks take part in the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 54 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An actor dressed to resemble Britain's Queen Elizabeth II parachutes into the stadium during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 55 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Queen Elizabeth II, right, and Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, attend the ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors and dancers play Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital staff and patients. Hide Caption 57 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers from the GOSH, Great Ormond Street Hospital, perform during the opening ceremony.

Hide Caption 58 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An artist flies over children and nurses during the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Actors perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Dancers perform in the GOSH and NHS scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Children perform a song. Hide Caption 62 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Giant puppets depicting Lord Voldemort, center, from the Harry Potter books and the Child Catcher from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" swirl around the stage in the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Lord Voldemort looms over the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Spectators wearing 3-D glasses during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – An artist performs during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – General view taken as actors perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 67 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Giant pictures depicting villains of British literature, including Captain Hook from "Peter Pan," are displayed during the opening ceremony.

Hide Caption 68 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An actor dressed as Mary Poppins performs in the GOSH and NHS scene. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers float with umbrellas as they play the role of Mary Poppins. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – General view taken as actors perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Dancers perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 72 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – British actor Rowan Atkinson in his role as Mr. Bean plays in the orchestra. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A broad view of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers dance to British music spanning the decades. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A general view of the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – An artist performs with a glowing pacifier during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 78 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – A performer in a giant ball is passed around during the opening ceremony.

Hide Caption 79 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Dancers perform under a "setting sun" in a scene dramatizing the struggle between life and death. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – General view of performers during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Dancers perform in a scene dramatizing the struggle between life and death. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Performers dance during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – A parachutist lands outside the Olympic Stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Artists wearing wings and riding bicylces perform during the ceremony. Hide Caption 88 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Olympic stadium lit up in red and blue during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Members of the Australia team parde into the stadium.

Hide Caption 90 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Members of Brazil's delegation hold their national flag as they walk during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Simon Whitfield of the Canada Olympic triathlon team carries his country's flag. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Canadian athletes enter the stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Chinese athletes enter the stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Croatia's delegation parades during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Athletes parade during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Members of India's delegation parade in the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 97 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – A member of India's delegation takes a picture as he parades during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Ali Mazaheri of the Iran Olympic boxing team carries his country's flag. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Members of Iran's delegation parade during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Usain Bolt leads the Jamaican Olympic team around the stadium.

Hide Caption 101 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Reigning Olympic men's 100-meter and 200-meter champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica carries his country's flag. Hide Caption 102 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An image of Jamaica's track star Usain Bolt, currently the world's fastest man, is projected on The Houses of Parliament in London. Hide Caption 103 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Natascha Keller of the German Olympic hockey team carries her country's flag during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Song-Chol Pak of the North Korea Olympic team carries his country's flag. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Athletes parade during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Philippine Van Aanholt, an independent Olympic athlete, parades during the opening ceremony Hide Caption 107 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Mariel Zagunis of the United States Olympic fencing team carries her country's flag.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fencer Mariel Zagunis leads the U.S. Olympic team around the stadium. Hide Caption 109 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – An image of British Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards is projected on the Houses of Parliament . Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Members of the Britain's delegation parade wave. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – British spectators cheer as they attend the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks explode from the top of Tower Bridge. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks go off from Tower Bridge. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks light up Tower Bridge. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks are displayed at Tower Bridge. Hide Caption 116 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – David Beckham passes under Tower Bridge driving a speedboat named "Max Power," which carries the Olympic Torch. Hide Caption 117 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Torchbearer Sir Steve Redgrave hands the Olympic flame over to the seven young athletes who represent Britain's hopes for the next Olympics.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The young athletes carry the Olympic glame. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Olympic flame is carried into the stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Olympic flame burns in the cauldron. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – The Olympic flame is seen in the stadium during the ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Participants look on as the Olympic flame burns in the cauldron. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks over the Olympic Stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks burst above the stadium during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks cast a purple glow over the Olympic Stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks explode from the stadium roof. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks ignite over the Olympic Stadium. Hide Caption 128 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – People cheer as they watch the opening ceremony on an outdoor screen at Piccadilly Circus. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks light up the Olympic Stadium and the night sky. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks over the Olympic Stadium.

Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks illuminate the sky in a fiery rainbow of color. Hide Caption 132 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks go off over the Olympic Stadium at the official opening of the 2012 Games. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Danny Boyle, the director of the opening ceremony, reacts to the show. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks form a fiery ring over the Olympic Stadium. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – General view as fireworks illuminate the sky during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks are let off over the Olympic stadium Hide Caption Olympics: Opening ceremony – Sir Paul McCartney performs during the opening ceremony. Hide Caption 138 of 139 Photos: Olympics: Opening ceremony Olympics: Opening ceremony – Fireworks light up the sky during the opening ceremony. Check out photos from the closing ceremony. Hide Caption Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Liu Xiang, hurdler – Liu Xiang will aim for his second gold medal in London's Olympic Games when he runs the 110-meter hurdles.

Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Sun Yang, swimmer – Swimmer Sun Yang aims to be the first Chinese male to win gold in his sport. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Li Na, tennis player – Tennis star Li Na will compete in the singles tournament in her final Olympic appearance. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Lin Dan, badminton player – Lin Dan, four-time world champion, will represent China in the sport of badminton. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Zhang Jike, table tennis player – Zhang Jike hopes to score big in China's "national ball game" when he competes in table tennis. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Ren Cancan, boxer – Ren Cancan, three-time world boxing champ, needs to beat five-time world champion Mary Kom of India to take Olympic gold. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: Chinese athletes to look out for Guo Ailun, basketball player – Guo Ailun will be calling shots as the point guard for China's men's basketball team.

Hide Caption Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre The Munich massacre – On September 5, 1972, the world woke up to images of the Munich Olympics in the throes of a hostage crisis. Two Israeli athletes had been killed and nine taken hostage by members of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist movement demanding the release of political prisoners by the Israeli government. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Munich 1972 begins – Forty years ago, the Munich Olympics had begun full of hope. Coming just 27 years after the end of World War II, it gave the new, democratic West Germany a chance to present a different face to the world. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre A poignant return – It was particularly poignant for the Israeli Olympic team, many of whom had suffered directly at the hands of the Nazis. The team marked their arrival with a visit to the Dachau concentration camp. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre A relic from the past – But there were still remnants of the past.

Hitler's favorite movie maker and propagandist Leni Riefenstahl is pictured here at the Olympic stadium. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Under siege – In a rush to show a demilitarized Germany, security around the Olympic village was lax. On September 4 the terrorist group entered the village and overpowered the Israelis. One was shot dead immediately while a second was killed soon after. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Crowds gather for news – A tense standoff followed as Black September demanded the release of 200 political prisoners. The Israeli government refused to negotiate. The German authorities, who had no dedicated anti-terrorist response unit, floundered as the terrorists' deadline approached. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre The end game – The remaining nine hostages were killed in a botched rescue mission. It later emerged that the German authorities had committed a series of blunders during the attempted rescue.

Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Munich continues – The world, and the terrorists, had watched the crisis unfold live on TV. Many wanted the Games to be canceled, but the IOC refused. Competition restarted after a one day pause. Hide Caption Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre Israeli athletes leave – The remaining Israeli athletes and officials returned home. Hide Caption Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre The return home – The coffins of the dead athletes and officials followed with them. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre The mission – Only three of the terrorists survived. Two were later killed, allegedly by Israeli intelligence in an operation to avenge the massacre. The mission was dramatized in the Steven Spielberg film "Munich." Only one is known to be alive today, Jamal al Gashey (right). Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre The survivor – Shaul Ladany survived the massacre. He was a champion Olympic walker who had also survived the Holocaust as a child.

Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: The 1972 Munich massacre A moment for the dead? – After Munich he became an academic and spent two spells in the Israeli military. At 76 years old he still walks 15 kilometers every day. He is baffled as to why the IOC refused a one-minute silence for the Israeli dead at London 2012's opening ceremony. Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The best: Prada and the Italian sailing team – World-renowned Italian fashion house Prada was a natural choice to design these understated and simple uniforms for the Italian sailing team. Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The best: Cedella Marley, Puma and Jamaica – Of all the designers involved in London 2012, Cedella Marley's collaboration with Puma has perhaps garnered the most praise. The granddaughter of reggae legend Bob Marley has created outfits that radiate laidback, urban cool. Of course, it helps that Usain Bolt is wearing them.

Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The best: Next and Team GB formalwear – Moderate high-street chain Next designed the Team GB formalwear for Friday's opening ceremony, where the host squad will be paraded in front of their home crowd for the first time. Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The best: Ermanno Scervino and Azerbaijan – Lesser-known Italian fashion house Ermanno Scervino describes itself as "a luxurious glam-rock essence made in Florence." These designs for the Azerbaijan squad will go some way to putting the former Soviet republic on the map during the Games. Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The best: Ralph Lauren and U.S. formalwear – Controversy erupted when it emerged the Ralph Lauren-designed U.S. kit had been manufactured in China. Despite the outsourced production, the New Yorker's creations are quintessentially American.

Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The worst: Bosco Sport and Spain – The uniforms that Russian designers Bosco Sport created for the Spain's Olympians are so dreadful that the athletes have taken to social-networking website Twitter to express their displeasure. Hockey player Alex Fabregas uploaded a picture of himself clad in his new gear with the caption: "Olympic kit ... there are no adjectives." Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The worst: Bosco Sport and Russia – Bosco Sport can't seem to catch a break, this time grabbing attention of the wrong kind for its retina-scalding designs for the Russian athletes. Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Runway to running track: Fashion at the Olympics The worst: Slovakia – It is unclear who designed the Slovakian team's uniforms -- although who wouldn't want to retain anonymity after creating those fedoras? Hide Caption

Question: Which olympic swimmer was known as 'Eric the Eel'?
Answer: Eric Moussambani